Christmas Without You
by Tuttle
Summary: David attempts to make it through another Christmas remembering one from his past. Set in 2002 and 2007. Includes material that may be upsetting to some readers.


Christmas Without You  
  
  
  
Rated: PG-PG13 (deals with a delicate situation. This situation may be upsetting to some readers. Additional not at the end which contains story spoilers )  
  
  
  
~~David sat in a chair by the window of his cabin. He looked out over the vast snow covered ground. The storm was thickening the white blanket as he just sat there.  
  
"David," he heard, turning his head to see Anna, dressed in a beautiful red top which delicately covered her extremely swollen belly. "All of the presents are under the tree and ready for everyone to arrive."  
  
David stood and walked over to Anna. He wrapped his arms around her, looking at the Christmas tree. "It's beautiful," David said.  
  
"The most beautiful tree I've ever seen."  
  
"And you..." he said, turning her around, looking her in the eye. "Are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen."  
  
Anna grinned. "Just please don't tell me I'm glowing." They laughed. David had never seen his wife so happy.  
  
"Just think, Anna. At this time next year, we'll be hanging three stockings on the mantle."  
  
"We'll probably be at eachother's throats because of...of sleepless nights and..."  
  
"And," David stopped her. "We'll still love it just the same." They embraced, David closing his eyes and cherishing the moment until...~~  
  
"Daddy," David stirred in his chair. He opened his eyes, taking a deep breath. Anna was gone. Now, a little girl of five jumped into his lap. "Is it still snowing?"  
  
She looked just like Anna. Everything about the child reminded David of his wife.  
  
"It sure is," David said, holding the girl. "It's going to snow very, very hard for a very long time."  
  
"You know what we learned in school? We learned that every snowflake is different. Is that true, Daddy?"  
  
"It sure is, baby."  
  
"Why though?"  
  
"Well," David thought. "Snowflakes are like people. No two people are the same."  
  
"Oh," the little girl said looking into David's eyes. "Was mommy like a snowflake, daddy? Is that why she's not here anymore?"  
  
David wanted desperately not to cry in front of his daughter. He paused a moment and then changed the subject. "How about you go open one of your Christmas presents tonight? You can open your cousin Aidan's, go on." David walked over to the piano and started at the keys for a moment before strategically placing his fingers and beginning to play.  
  
~~"I didn't know that you could play the piano," Anna said, interrupting David's rendition of Silent Night.  
  
"I learned when I was about five," David said. "I guess it's kind of like operating. You never forget."  
  
"You play beautifully."  
  
"And..." David said as Anna sat beside him on the piano bench. "I takerequests. Just not Heart and Soul. That song drives me up a wall."  
  
"How about..." Anna thought. "O' Holy Night."  
  
David smiled and again began to play. A tear formed in his eye.~~  
  
"Are you crying, daddy?" the little girl asked as David stopped playing to wipe his eyes.  
  
"No," David lied to the child. "I just have some dust in my eyes. So... what did Aidan get you?"  
  
The little girl ran back over to the tree, returned with a tiny box and handed it to David. David flipped the box open to reveal a silver chain and a heart shaped pendant.  
  
"He bought you a fruit cake," she said.  
  
"We'll just wrap that back up and give it to your uncle Trey. It'll never beat that gift he gave me that one year," David added under his breath.  
  
~~There was a knock at the door. Anna slowly made her way to open it. Outside, snowflakes beginning to settle in their hair, stood Trey and Maggie.  
  
"Come in," Anna said, moving aside.  
  
"I hope were not too late," Trey said.  
  
"Yeah," Maggie added. "The snow is really getting heavy out there."  
  
"Oh, don't worry," Anna said. "Greenlee and Aidan still haven't arrived yet."  
  
"How are you feeling, Anna?" Maggie asked. "I mean, now that you're working again."  
  
"Pretty well, actually," Anna said. "It feels good to be able to do something other than sit around here all day."  
  
Trey walked over to David and handed him a package. "Merry Christmas," he said as David looked at the box. "Go ahead, open it."  
  
Trey smiled as David tore at the wrapping paper. Anna and Maggie approached them as David removed the contents of the package. Anna put her hands up to her mouth to hide her smile.  
  
"Rudolph boxer shorts," David said.  
  
"They're battery operated," Trey laughed. "Just pop in a double A and the noses blink."  
  
"I don't know what to say," David said sarcastically.  
  
"Ooo," Maggie said reaching into her purse. " I almost forgot." She pulled out some mistletoe and held it above Anna and David. "Alright. Auld Lang Syne and Frère Jacques. You two know what comes next."  
  
Anna and David bent into eachother, embracing in a long passionate kiss, until suddenly a phone began to ring.  
  
"That's mine," Anna said. "It must be important to get a call on Christmas Eve."  
  
"It better be," David said under his breath. Maggie jabbed him in the arm with her elbow.  
  
"Anna Devane...Oh, hi, Jackson, Merry Christmas... What?.. Where?...Of course... No, I'll be there as soon as I can."  
  
"What is it?" Maggie asked.  
  
"They have a situation down at the cineplex."  
  
"A situation?" David asked.  
  
"Nothing serious, they just need me down there to take care of a few things."  
  
"Anna," David said following after her as she went for her coat and weapon. "Anna, you can't go. Please, Anna, it's Christmas. Our family is here."  
  
"I won't be long, David," she explained. "I'm just going to see what's going on. I'm Chief of Police, I need to be there." David followed Anna to the door. "When Greenlee and Aidan get here, tell them I'll be right back."  
  
"Anna," David begged.  
  
Anna kissed him quickly. "I love you," she said as she ran out of the cabin into the thick falling snow.~~  
  
"Daddy?" the little girl asked. "How does Santa know to bring my presents here?"  
  
"He has ways of knowing, baby." David said as he tucked the child into bed. "Don't forget, Santa has magic reindeer, and they fly him everywhere he has to go."  
  
"But what if I don't get any presents this year?"  
  
David sat on the bed beside his daughter. "What would make you think that? You were a good girl."  
  
"But maybe Santa will think about what happened to mommy." David was silent, stunned by what the child had said. "Are you angry with me about mommy?" the child began to cry.  
  
"Hey," David said. He sat the child up and brought her closer to him. "You listen to me. What happened to your mommy was not your fault. It was nobody's fault.""  
  
"But she's not here anymore and I am."  
  
"What happened to your mommy was an accident."  
  
"You're not mad at me?"  
  
"Mad at you?" David put his arms around the child. " How could I be mad at you? You're my little girl, and I love you with all my heart."  
  
"I love you too, daddy." She held tightly onto David, almost like if she let go, he would vanish into thin air.  
  
"OK, now," David said, tucking her back under the covers. "No more worrying. If you don't go to sleep, Santa's not going to come." The child's eyes bolted shut, a tiny smile on her face. David bent down and kissed her on the forehead. He stood and walked to the bedroom door and started to close it.  
  
"Daddy?" the child said. "Leave it opened a little?" David complied and exited the room.  
  
~~The party was really beginning to liven up. Greenlee and Aidan had arrived and the mood was jolly, except for David. He paced back and forth by the window, watching the snow fall.  
  
Maggie approached David, forcing him to stop pacing. She looked out the window. "She's going to be back any time now," Maggie told him. "Come on, David. Have some egg nog, sing Christmas carols... mingle or something."  
  
"I don't even want to think of `mingling' until Anna is safe and warm back in this house."  
  
"Do you want to know what I think?"  
  
"No, but you're going to tell me anyway, right?"  
  
"I think that you worry too much. It's Christmas Eve. Ho Ho Ho and stuff like that. Be jolly." David smiled and put his arm around Maggie's shoulder. They just stood there for a moment as the phone rang.  
  
"That's me," David said, picking up his cell phone. "Hello...This is David Hayward..." Suddenly, the smile on David's face disappeared. He became pale white. "Where are they taking her? Is she alright? Is she... I'll be right there." David hung up the phone, a look of shock on his face. "Anna's car went off the road," he told them. "She's at Pine Valley Hospital."  
  
"What are we waiting for?" Aidan asked.  
  
"Yeah," added Maggie. "Let's go, we're coming with you."~~  
  
David sat at his computer, he didn't type a work however. He only sat, his head in his hands and thought about Anna. He thought about how he never really enjoyed Christmas since he was a kid. Tragedy had struck so many people close to David. First his father, then Leo and Anna. The snow outside wasn't helping him much either. It just reminded him.  
  
~~"Where is she?" David said as he, Trey, Maggie, Greenlee and Aidan rushed into the hospital. "Where's my wife? Where's Anna?"  
  
Jake Martin approached him. "David," he said. " I need you to sit down."  
  
"Not now, Jake, I need to see my wife."  
  
"I'm going to..." Jake tried to calm him. "I'm going to take you to see Anna. I'll take you to see her. But first I need you to sit, we need to talk."  
  
"I'm fine. Just say what you have to say and take me to see Anna."  
  
Jake tried to put it as delicately as he could. "The accident caused Anna to go into premature labor. The baby is in an incubator. She's holding up pretty well so far. Anna, David...She's holding on for you."  
  
"Oh, my God," Aidan said. "She's dying?"  
  
"She wants to see you," Jake said. "All of you."  
  
There was silence as Jake led the five of them down the hall to Anna's room. They pushed open the door and stepped inside. Anna was lying in a bed, tubes coming out of her arms and nose. They all approached her, David at the forefront. He sat down on the edge of her bed and took her hand in his.  
  
"I'm here, Anna," David said. "And Trey and Greenlee and Aidan and Maggie, we're all here."  
  
Anna painfully put a weak smile on her face. "Did you see your daughter?" she said in almost a whisper, trying to motion to the incubator beside her bed.  
  
"She's beautiful," David said. "She's so beautiful."  
  
"Like a lily in the spring time."  
  
"That's what we'll call her then," David choked. "We'll call her Lily."  
  
"I need you to promise me, David that you'll take care of her. You'll raise her and be the best family that she could ever have."  
  
"But you're going to be OK, Anna. You don't have to worry about that."  
  
"Promise me, David that you won't end up in prison again and leave your daughter with out a father. Promise."  
  
"Anna..."  
  
"Promise."  
  
"I promise. I promise."  
  
"And promise me that one day, you tell her all about her mother. One day, when she's a little older."  
  
"I promise." David cried.  
  
Anna's eyes began to flutter. "I love you, David. Don't ever forget that I love you."  
  
"I love you too, Anna." David held her hand as her eyes closed. Her chest went up and down two more times and then stayed down as the heart monitor flat lined. Maggie walked up behind David and put her hand on his shoulder. The room was an ocean of tears as David laid his head down lightly on Anna. She was gone.~~  
  
"Christmas without you is the worst time, Anna," David said, hoping that she could hear him. "Lily is getting so big and she's smart and independent. She reminds me more and more of you everyday. And... I'm keeping my promise. I am, Anna. Jake by some strange miracle gave me my job back at the hospital. Lily stays with Aidan during the day. She adores Aidan, it's wonderful, but, I still wish that you were around to see her grow and..."  
  
"Daddy?" Lily slowly walked out of her room to David. "I can't sleep. Can you tell me a story?"  
  
David thought for a moment and then placed the child on his lap. "I will tell you a story, Lily," he said, picking up a small, gold picture frame from his desk and showed it to her. "This, baby, is your mommy."  
  
"She's really pretty," Lily said.  
  
"Yeah," David said softly. "She sure was. How would you like me to tell you about her?" The little girl nodded and leaned back against David. He began to tell Lily about Anna and answered every question she asked until the child fell asleep in his arms. The next morning would be Christmas, and it was now that David finally knew that he wasn't spending Christmas without Anna. She was always with him, she was part of Lily. And their love would be everlasting.  
  
(***Additonal Note, now that you've read the story: You are all entitled to feel how you feel about this fic. I am an Anna/David fan and I really love Anna as a character. This is just a work of fiction, and I really don't hope that anything like this ever happens on the show. This fic is jsut one way to show the bond that Anna and David share, and I hope that I didn't upset anyone too much with it.) 


End file.
